Diwali diyas made by intellectually impaired, were up for grabs for a fortnight, has witnessed a bumper sale. Not a single piece is available now even though inquiries have been pouring in almost every day.

The special students of Jeevika, a Sonari-based NGO working for the promotion of intellectually challenged, remained busy in modeling, painting and applying varnish to the diyas made in view of the festival of lights since last month.

“All the diyas are exhausted. We are no longer selling the product even though people are enquiring about them. The special children worked hard and we feel happy that it has paid off,” said Avtar Singh, founder of Jeevika.

According to him, the special children made 4,000 diyas which were procured from a potter in Asanbani, East Singhbhum. “Some diyas were also procured from Jamshedpur. Paint, varnish, wax and threads were purchased locally. The students are presently making diyas which have been ordered by customers in advance. We have also kept some diyas aside for gifting them to our well-wishers,” Singh, a former national cycling champion, informed.

A special student pours wax on diyas at Jeevika in Jamshedpur on Tuesday. Animesh Sengupta

Six hundred decoration pieces as well as decorative eco-friendly bags have also been sold.

The diyas were displayed and sold from the premises of Jeevika. The visitors appreciated the hard work and skills of the intellectually impaired.

The special students, including Ganga Bai, Akash Sharma, Ankit Mukherjee, Ryan Francis and Pankaj Kumar remained busy for about four hours daily at the Jeevika centre. They were assisted by Anuradha Kumari, a temporary staff of Jeevika.

“We were aware that there will be an unprecedented demand for diyas since Indians are boycotting Chinese products, including diyas. We were against taking an unnecessary risk since there will be a rush of people if we display more numbers of diyas for sale. So, we kept 4,000 diyas for sale. We wanted to be very cautious in dealing with the pandemic,” Singh explained.

The diyas – in various shapes and sizes, the most unique being the turtles – were a hit among people from Jamshedpur and Ranchi. The diyas invariably get exhausted much before Diwali. The diyas are also purchased by different companies and social organizations in the steel city.

Ryan Francis, who painted diyas also put strings in decorative paper bags, said he feels very happy with the sale. “We were very sure that the diyas would be sold before Diwali. Now, we are waiting for the gift from our school,” he added.

The intellectually impaired will be getting pat and cash from the special school after Diwali. “We will surely recognize the toil of our students,” said Jeevika secretary Sukhdeep Kaur.

Jeevika is striving hard to bring special athletes to the social mainstream. Some of its students have got married and are leading a happy life. Seven of its students have landed employment.